Vertical packaging machines are common as devices for packaging food products or other packaged articles by simultaneously manufacturing bags and loading packaged articles into the bags.
In the pillow packaging machine disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-142806, a sheet packaging material is formed into a tubular shape by a former and a tube. A vertical joint of the tubular packaging material is vertically sealed by a vertical sealing means. The article is then loaded into the tubular packaging material, and a lateral seal is performed across the top part of the bag and the bottom part of the succeeding bag by a lateral sealing mechanism. The center of the laterally sealed portion is cut by a cutter.